Analyst Mike Abramsky at Investment Bank RBC Capital Markets has issued a note to investors detailing two key manufacturing changes regarding Apple hardware. According to the unconfirmed report, Apple recently increased Q4 manufacturing orders for its iPad ahead of the holidays. The adjustment will bring manufacturing totals to 40 million units, and Apple plans to have the same number of iPads built in 2011. Abramsky goes on to suggest that Apple has decreased the number of Verizon Wireless-compatible CDMA iPhone models it will order in 2011. As a result of the change, RBC has trimmed 33% from its 2011 Verizon iPhone sales projections — cutting its forecast from 30 million to 20 million. More →

The shortage of critical components needed to manufacture the HTC Droid Incredible shows no sign of letting up, as the popular Verizon Wireless smartphone has had its ship by date pushed back to July 12th. Amid the shortage, demand for the Incredible is so high that Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam recently noted that his company “had to pull way back” on shipments to retail stores in order to focus on online sales. The shortage has also allowed the ageing Motorola Droid — itself facing shortages — to outsell the HTC device. One of the major reasons for the delay is Samsung’s inability to quickly produce AMOLED displays. High demand for handsets with AMOLED displays has placed serious strains on Samsung’s production lines and shows no sign of letting up. Of course to those who have been attempting to get a Droid Incredible since it launched, knowing the reason for the delay isn’t all that comforting. But anyone willing to pay a bit of a premium shouldn’t have a very hard time finding one on sites like eBay and Craigslist. Enterprising individuals there appear to have plenty of stock, albeit with a healthy markup.

AT&T is apparently not alone in struggling to cope with the demand that data hungry devices like the iPhone have placed on its network. Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2 UK, has publicly apologized to Londoners for the poor performance of its network over the past 6 months, blaming the explosion of demand for data by smartphones such an Apple’s iPhone for its woes. Londoners on O2 have struggled with intermittent data outages and occasional periods where they could not make or receive phone calls, a scenario all too familiar for AT&T customers in the US. To cope with this surge in usage, O2 UK has dumped 30 million pounds ($48 million USD) into its network and has added 200 mobile base stations. O2 is also working closely with Nokia Siemens to help better equip its network infrastructure and is in talks with both RIM and Apple to help identify data-intensive applications, a strategy which sounds a bit troubling. With a bit of good news, Mr. Dunne claims O2’s London network has shown improvement in the month of December and that any “short-term blip” in their network reputation will be ameliorated by these efforts. More →